3D TAXI - An underground taxi system that will take me between the Medina and the VN for 3dh
AFRIT(A) - "Little Devil" or "Trouble-Maker"
B'RED - A Moroccan teapot
BINT Al-A'ILA - A good girl, a girl belonging to a family
BISLAMA - "goodbye" in Moroccan Arabic
BISSAHA - "To your health" - a blessing to someone who is eating or as made a recent purchase. Response: "Layateek Saha" ("God give you health")
CAFTAN - A Moroccan dress worn on special/formal occasions
DARIJA - The Moroccan dialect of Arabic
DERB - A Street in the Medina, more like an Alley
DIRHAM - (Dh) Moroccan currency. Currently $1=7.7dh
EID AL-ADHA - aka EID AL-KABIR aka FESTIVAL OF SACRIFICE - A Muslim holiday in which each family sacrifices a ram; Remembers Abraham's submission to Allah
FESSI - Someone or something from Fez
FUSHA - Written Arabic, understood across the Arab world, but not a Mother tongue anywhere
GAURI(A) - A foreigner
GRAND TAXI - A Mercedes sedan that can be hired to take up to 6 passengers between cities
HAMDULILAH - means "Praise God" - often used to answer the question "how are you?"
HANUT - Shop, Convenience Store
HARCHA - A Moroccan bread. Delicious for breakfast.
HIJAB - Headscarf worn by some Muslim women. Moroccan women may or may not wear one.
INSHALLAH - Means "if God wills it" - used with any future tense verb, as a disclaimer on any intention, or as an ambiguous answer to a question such as "will you marry my son?"
JELABA - The everyday robe traditionally worn by Moroccans, male or female
MACOUDA- A deep-fried mashed potato sandwich. A delicious heart-attack waiting to happen.
MALAWI - A Moroccan bread. Delicious for breakfast. Also a country in Africa.
MARA MARA - From time to time
MASKHOT(A) - Can mean naughty/of ill repute; also can mean clever or funny
MASUS - Bland, meaning without sugar or salt, depending on the context; The way I like my coffee
MATICHA - "Tomato"; also my nickname, thanks to my tendency to turn red if I'm embarassed, hot, or have just exercised
MESKIN(A) - "Poor Thing!"
MINERAT - The tower of a mosque
SHEBAB - Young men
SHWIA BI SHWIA - "Little by Little"
SOUK - Market
TAGINE - The traditional Moroccan dish that consists of any variety of meat, vegetables and/or spices
YALLA - Let's go!
ZILEJ - The ceramic tiles in various shapes and colors that are fit together in traditional Fessi mosaics
Nouns You Should Know
ALIF - The Arabic Language Institute in Fez - My Arabic school
BATHA - a neighborhood on the edge of the medina; next to Ziat
CAFE CLOCK - My favorite Cafe. Kind of like "Cheers", where everybody knows your name
DERB ERROME - My street in the medina, July 2010-present
DOUNIA - My sweet, hilarious, beautiful older host sister, age 23
FEZ JDID - The neighborhood between the Medina and the Ville Nouvelle - where I lived Jan-June 2010
FZ JARA - One of my neighbors in Fez Jdid
HAMOUDA - AKA "Sanfori" (My Smurf) - One of my closest friends and my older host brother, age 25
HAMZA - My little host brother with amazing, gravity-defying hair, age 18
HASSAN AL-FARHAN - a dear friend, one of the most joyful people I know
JJ'S - My favorite Cafe in the Ville Nouvelle; Located down the street from ALIF
KAMAL DIYAL JJ'S - A waiter at JJ's; Is always helpful; Makes fun of me a lot
KARIMA - My dear friend, seamstress and muse. One of the most admirable and brilliant women I've met in Fez or elsewhere.
KHATTABI - My host family
LALLA - Latifa's mother; Maternal grandmother of the Khattabi kids
LATIFA - AKA "Mama Morocco" - My kind, generous, and very intellient host mother
MACECE - The Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange - the administrator of my grant.
MALIKA - One of my neighbors in Fez Jdid
MEDINA - the old city - built in 807 by Moulay Idriss; The world's largest no-traffic zone
MIMA - Said's mother; Paternal grandmother of the Khattabi kids
SA'ID - My soft-spoken host-dad who always mimes to me
SIMO - Any anonymous Moroccan male
SOUKAINA - AKA "Souks" AKA "Shneula" (Mosquito) - My darling, feisty little host sister, age 16.
TALAA KBIRA - One of the medina's main drags
VILLE NOUVELLE - The "New City" - built during the French Colonial Period
YOUSEF - AKA "Joey" - Dounia's baby boy , Born June 2009
ZIAT - My first neighborhood in the Medina - Where the Khattabis live
Obligatory Disclaimer
The views and information presented on this blog are my own and do not represent the Fulbright program or Department of State.
Please comment on my posts, but use discretion. In an effort to keep myself from getting arrested or having my grant terminated, I've set it up so that I have to approve comments before they are published on the site. Not that I don't trust you.
1 comment:
Beautiful! Also, points for being resourceful...I would never think to use my laptop camera.
if you come down to my window...
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